


ET IN TERRA - THE UNDER GROUND

by Ricky B (littletoes101)



Series: ET IN TERRA [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on ICE
Genre: Gang AU, Multi, cat shifters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 15:00:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8849494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littletoes101/pseuds/Ricky%20B
Summary: Cat-shifters are shunned by society, heckled into keeping their ears and tails hidden, into ignoring their natural impulses. Katsuki Yuuri is one of those cat-shifters, forced to live with all the anxiety and pain of keeping his identity a secret. That is, until he meets the charismatic Viktor Nikiforov, who convinces him to join a group called the Cats from Hell. Locked in a dangerous gang war between their rival human gangs, will Yuuri be able to unlock the secret of the origins of the cat-shifters before it’s too late?





	1. CHAPTER ONE

There were a lot of things Katsuki Yuuri wasn’t proud of about himself.

His weight was one of them, his mediocrity another, but the biggest and most important things had to be his ears and tail.

Rounded ears sat on top of a mop of messy black hair, and a long black tail with a white underside and rounded tip that was long enough to easily curl around his waist even when he put on a few extra pounds was situated right at the end of his tailbone. It spoke of his heritage. Half of him was Asiatic leopard, and the other half was human.

No matter how hard he tried, he could never be proud of it.

Ever since cat-shifters had appeared in the world over two-hundred years ago, there was a lot of scrutiny and debate over them. At first they weren’t even considered people or citizens. They were slaves – “pets” to the wealthy and those who could afford them – and treated like a common cat. They’d come a long way since then. Cat-shifters were seen as people and citizens now, protected by laws and even allowed to marry normal humans. But there was still hatred and fear, and it always ruled over the humans of the land.

Yuuri’s best friend had been a human girl, Yuuko, and that had been hard enough on him. Yuuko had always urged him to be his best and be proud of who he was, but he just couldn’t do it. How could he? When he had the whole world telling him he was wrong…

The bus Yuuri was riding came to an abrupt and screeching halt, jerking him forward in his seat a bit. He was wearing a beanie over his ears, and his tail was tucked securely into his jeans. Just looking at him, no one would know he was a cat. Which was exactly the way he liked it.

He slipped quietly out of his seat and headed for the front of the bus, waving goodbye to the driver before stepping off. The driver did not respond. Yuuri didn’t expect him to.

This was a part of town Yuuri rarely visited. It was the part of Hasetsu that was better left untouched, but it provided a shortcut from one side of town to the other and Yuuri would rather take it than be stuck on the bus for another hour. The bus was cramped, stuffy, and hot, and while the town wasn’t much better it at least gave him the opportunity to stretch his legs.

He didn’t know when he crossed the invisible line between “open territory” to “occupied territory”, but it couldn’t have happened long after he stepped off the bus.

Yuuri didn’t even register the footsteps behind him until it was too late. By the time he had heard it, turning the corner into a small alley, his pursuer was already giving a fearsome yowl of attack.

He was pounced on by behind and as such couldn’t get a clear look at his attacker. Yuuri yelped as he was pushed to the ground, struggling beneath the weight of his attacker. The breath was knocked out of him – was he really that out of shape? – and he gasped for air as his chest was compressed beneath his attacker. Sharp nails and claws were digging into his back, possibly drawing blood, and Yuuri knew he had to think fast.

With all of the strength that he had, Yuuri pushed himself up from lying flat on the ground. He could feel his attacker shift in what might be surprise, before Yuuri swung himself violently to the side, right into a wall. His attacker was crushed between it and him, and released Yuuri long enough for him to scramble free.

Twisting his body around, Yuuri finally faced the cat who had attacked him. He was short, shorter than him by a few inches, with rounded ears and distinct white spots on the back. His skin was tan, and his hair and eyes were dark, bright with youthful energy. He was posed with his shoulders hunched and head down, eyes wide as saucers with all of the fading light reflected in them. Around his neck sat a brown leather collar, golden tag gleaming in the street lights.

It took a moment for Yuuri to recognize him, simply because he had changed so much from when they had last met. Yuuri’s ears – which were now in full view now that his beanie had been knocked off – perked up.

“Phichit?” He finally asked, tilting his head to the side and twitching his ears. The other cat abruptly stopped bristling at that, all signs of aggression fading from his body as he appeared to sniff the air somewhat wearily. “Is that really you?”

“Yuuri?” Phichit echoed. His long striped tail twitched and then finally stood upright. A friendly greeting. “Oh – oh! I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t have attacked you if I’d known it was you!” He gave a little laugh, reaching up with one hand and scratching at the back of his head. “I thought you were just some human messing around on our turf.”

“ _Our_ turf?” Yuuri asked. His tail – which was currently curled around his leg – twitched. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh! Right, you don’t know.” Phichit laughed again, ears twitching and then lying flat against his head. “This area of the town is under control of the Cats from Hell.”

“The Cats from Hell?” This was confusing. Yuuri shook his head as if to clear it, his own ears going back against his skull. “That’s a gang, isn’t it? What are you doing with a gang?”

“Yeah, I hadn’t told you about that yet – I’m a Rabbit Foot in the Cats from Hell.” Phichit puffed out his chest, and then motioned to the collar around his neck. “This is my mark of acceptance in the gang – isn’t it cool?”

Yuuri shook his head again. “Isn’t that dangerous? I mean, don’t you have to fight with others? Isn’t it hard?”

“Well, it _is_ hard,” Phichit replied, tilting his head. “We do have to fight with other gangs sometimes, and we don’t always have the best living quarters, but it’s worth it. We get to live out of the eyes of humans for the most part, and we’re _free_. We don’t have to worry about what humans think of us. Haven’t you ever wanted that?”

“What are you getting at?” Yuuri asked, taking a little step back. “I mean – it would be nice if I could live free like that, but I don’t think I’m cut out for gang life.”

“Why don’t you come find out?” Phichit asked, his tone taking on a playful tilt. “I’m sure Viktor wouldn’t mind, he did recruit me after all.”

“Viktor… who is Viktor?”

“Why, the leader, of course!” Phichit smiled wide, his eyes half-closed. “If the leader likes you, you won’t have a problem – and if he liked me, he’s sure to like you.”

“I – I don’t know,” Yuuri murmured. He watched as Phichit’s tail suddenly went stiff, his head lifting once again as he sniffed at the air. His ears pinned against his skull, and he looked at Yuuri with worry in his eyes.

“Well, you’d better figure it out fast,” he said, urgency in his voice. “They’re coming.”


	2. CHAPTER TWO

Before Yuuri could ask who was coming, he was interrupted by a loud cry of “Intruder!”

He swung his head to the side, searching for the source of the noise. There was a figure standing at the opening of the alleyway, ears and tail fully visible and erect. The figure was shadowed, however, and Yuuri’s glasses had gotten skewed in the fight so he was unable to tell the features of the figure. All he could tell was that they were small, thin, and probably young, judging by the scent.

Behind that one came another figure, moving briskly down the alleyway, both of their strides synchronizing as they caught up with one another. Upon closer inspection, Yuuri could finally start to see both of them, though they were a bit blurred. One was taller than the other by about two inches. His head was lowered, and his hair was clipped in an undercut. Deep ochre-colored eyes peered out at him from beneath heavy brows. He wore a black leather jacket, and  had his hands shoved into the pockets.

Beside him stood the smaller cat, with long blonde hair reaching down to his shoulders. His eyes were a bright blue-green and shone in the receding light of the day that was rapidly giving way to the night. He wore a tiger-print jacket over a black shirt, with a pair of tight jeans to boot. He was a stark contrast to his apparent partner, and he sneered when he looked at Yuuri.

“Tch. Who’s this little Soft Paw?” The smaller one asked, his lip still curled with distaste. Yuuri couldn’t help but bristle a bit. He was obviously older than this other cat – who did he think he was, calling him a Soft Paw? Sure, he lived a generally safe and comfortable life, but that didn’t mean he was sheltered or posh.

“An old friend of mine,” Phichit replied, twitching his tail. “We were just talking, there’s no need to worry – ”

“I’m not worried!” Hissed the blonde, ears pinning back against his head. “I heard what you were talking about. What makes you think you have the status to invite this – _thing_ into the gang? You’re still a Rabbit Foot!”

“So are you,” Phichit laughed, which made the blonde spit again. “Don’t mind this kid, Yuuri. This is Yuri Plisetsky, he’s in the gang with me.”

“How dare you!” The other Yuri snapped, tail lashing back and forth. “Friend or no friend, you should’ve chased him off. We can’t have Soft Paws like him leeching off of our territory.”

“I – I wasn’t leeching, I swear,” Yuuri started to say, tail going between his legs. Yuri seemed to like that, or dislike, he couldn’t really tell, because his sneer only grew. “I was just taking a shortcut home!”

“Well, I guess you’d better find another route then, huh?” Yuri growled, curling his lips back to show his teeth and bunching his shoulders aggressively.

“W-well, I – ” Yuuri took another few steps back as Yuri pushed his boundaries, stepping far beyond what was comfortable and into his personal space. “I – I – ” The bigger cat who had accompanied Yuri was saying nothing, though his tail twitched back and forth as if he was noticing something. Phichit’s tail had fluffed out, and he looked like he was going to say something before yet another voice interrupted them.

“Ah, don’t be mean to newcomers, _Yura_ ,” a smooth voice chided. Immediately, Phichit gave a little yelp and dropped to his knees, bowing his head to the newcomer. Yuri huffed, and the other cat who’d come along with him dipped his head like Phichit had done.

This could only be one cat – it had to be the Leader, Viktor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> be sure to leave comment/kudos if you liked it!


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